Definition
A person who is blamed for problems they didn't cause; someone made to take the punishment for others' mistakes.
Etymology
From Hebrew biblical tradition (Leviticus 16): a goat that symbolically carried away the sins of the people into the wilderness. The term combines 'scape' (escape) and 'goat,' first used literally in English around 1530.
Kelly Says
The original scapegoat ritual is one of the oldest examples of using symbolism to transfer blame—ancient priests would literally put their hands on a goat while listing everyone's sins, then send it away, which is the exact opposite of how we use it now (to blame an innocent person).
Translations
AFAfrikaans
sondebok
SON-de-bok
AMአማርኛ
የስርየት ፍየል
ye-sir-yet fyel
ARالعربية
كبش فداء
kabsh fid-DAA
BGБългарски
жертвен козел
ZHERT-ven ko-zel
BNবাংলা
বলির পাঁঠা
bo-li pan-tha
CACatalà
boc expiatori
bok eks-pya-TO-ri
CSČeština
obětní beránek
o-BET-nee be-RAA-nek
DADansk
syndebuk
SIN-de-book
DEDeutsch
Sündenbock
ZUN-den-bok
ELΕλληνικά
αποδιοπομπαίος τράγος
a-po-di-o-pom-PE-os TRA-gos
ESEspañol
chivo expiatorio
CHEE-vo eks-pya-TO-ryo
ETEesti
patuohver
pa-tu-OH-ver
EUEuskara
ahari zigorgarria
a-ha-ri zi-gor-GA-rri-a
FAفارسی
بز طلیعه
boz ta-li-e
FISuomi
syntipukki
SYN-ti-puk-ki
FRFrançais
bouc émissaire
book ay-mi-SAIR
GLGalego
bode expiatorio
BO-de eks-pya-TO-ryo
HEעברית
שעיר לעזאזל
sa-EER le-a-za-ZEL
HIहिन्दी
बलि का बकरा
ba-li ka bak-RA
HRHrvatski
žrtveni jarac
ZHRT-ve-ni ya-rats
IDBahasa Indonesia
kambing hitam
kam-bing hi-tam
ITItaliano
capro espiatorio
KA-pro es-pya-TO-ryo
JA日本語
スケープゴート
su-ke-pu-go-to
LTLietuvių
atpirkimo ožys
at-pir-KI-mo O-zhys
LVLatviešu
grēkāzis
gre-KAA-zis
MNМонгол
нүгэл тээгч
nu-gel tee-gch
MSBahasa Melayu
kambing hitam
kam-bing hi-tam
MYမြန်မာ
အပြစ်ပေးခံရသူ
a-pyit-pay-khan-ya-thu
NLNederlands
zondebok
ZON-de-bok
NONorsk
syndebukk
SIN-de-book
PLPolski
kozioł ofiarny
KO-zhew o-FYAR-ny
PTPortuguês
bode expiatório
BO-de eks-pya-TO-ryo
RORomână
țap ispășitor
tsap is-pa-shi-TOR
RUРусский
козёл отпущения
ko-ZYOL ot-pu-SHCHEN-i-ya
SKSlovenčina
obetný baránok
o-BET-nee ba-RAA-nok
SLSlovenščina
grešni kozel
GRE-shni ko-zel
SRСрпски
жртвени јарац
zhr-tve-ni ya-rats
SVSvenska
syndabock
SIN-da-bok
SWKiswahili
mbuzi wa kafara
mbu-zi wa ka-FA-ra
TAதமிழ்
பலியாட்டு
pa-li-yaa-tu
TEతెలుగు
బలిపశువు
ba-li-pa-shu-vu
THไทย
แพะรับบาป
phae rap baap
TRTürkçe
günah keçisi
gu-NAH ke-chi-si
UKУкраїнська
козел відпущення
ko-ZEL vid-pu-SHCHEN-nya
URاردو
قربانی کا بکرا
qur-ba-ni ka bak-ra
VITiếng Việt
vật tế thần
vat te than